Swim Drill Of The Week: Backstroke Rotation Progression

backstroke-rotation-progression-drill-of-week

Welcome to the “Swim Drill of the Week”. Swimming World will be bringing you a drill, concept, or tip that you can implement with your team on a regular basis. While certain weeks may be more appropriate for specific levels of swimming (club, high school, college, or masters), Drill Of The Week excerpts are meant to be flexible for your needs and inclusive for all levels of swimming.

This week’s drill progression is designed to work on maintaining steady, hip and core driven rotation in backstroke starting with the basic shoulder to chin kick drill all the way through single arm play and ending with moderate backstroke swimming. Take a look at the drill progression below and the description that follows for implementing it with your team:

2 x 50’s shoulder to chin kick

2 x 50’s single arm backstroke (1 x R arm, 1 x L arm)

2 x 50’s 2-2-2 drill

2 x 50’s moderate backstroke drive tempo from core

While the shoulder to chin kick is the most basic drill in the sequence, it is also one of the most important. Make sure that your swimmers are rotating only from their body, bringing each shoulder to their chin while keeping their head and body line in a straight line. Watch to make sure the hips are and legs are not swaying from side to side and that the arms are glued to the sides of the body.

Next, swimmers will add in their arms, running through two lengths of single arm backstroke and then 2-2-2 drill. On the single arm drill, encourage your athletes to stay fluid as they rotate through their ghost arm side while also being patient and rotating fully to each side. On 2-2-2 drill, ask them to get their tempo up while they stay fluid switching from side to side.

The progression ends with 2 x 50’s of moderate backstroke swimming, where they should focus on driving their tempo from their core rotation and keeping a straight body line from the top of their head down through their toes. By the end of the progression your swimmers should have a better idea of how they are using their hips and core to rotate and should be able to self-correct any hitches in their stroke more effectively. Happy swimming!

All swimming and dryland training and instruction should be performed under the supervision of a qualified coach or instructor, and in circumstances that ensure the safety of participants.

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